I have to applaud young Sophie Troud for her performance, as this entire short film is carried by her as she does a long monologue. Although Barnita Domenico-Runnings received top billing, for most of the film you only see her lying in a coffin and you only catch a few tiny glimpses of her before she died as she worked her job as a domestic in apartheid-era South Africa.
The film begins with glimpses of Domenico-Runnings making a cake. Then, abruptly, you see a young white girl (Troud) in a room with several coffins. One of them is open and Domenico-Runnings is inside. It seems that Troud has come to say her goodbyes to her Black maid, though the longer she stays and monologues, the more she reveals the deeply held excuses used by Africaaners to justify apartheid. It's on odd and fascinating way to discuss this subject--from a child's point of view and revealing just how deeply ingrained separatist attitudes and how "normal" this all seemed in this country.
Fascinating and unusual--give this one a look.
The film begins with glimpses of Domenico-Runnings making a cake. Then, abruptly, you see a young white girl (Troud) in a room with several coffins. One of them is open and Domenico-Runnings is inside. It seems that Troud has come to say her goodbyes to her Black maid, though the longer she stays and monologues, the more she reveals the deeply held excuses used by Africaaners to justify apartheid. It's on odd and fascinating way to discuss this subject--from a child's point of view and revealing just how deeply ingrained separatist attitudes and how "normal" this all seemed in this country.
Fascinating and unusual--give this one a look.
